Bryan Cook (U2, One Republic, Aloe Blacc)

LA-Based Mixer Bryan Cook Has 20 Years Of Experience In The Studio World, Having Started At The Legendary A&M Studios. While There, He Worked With Artists Like Rod Stewart, The Wallflowers, And Korn. Since Going Independent In 2002, Cook Has Mixed Music For Some Of Rock And Pop's Most Notable Names, Including U2, One Republic, And Jeff Goldblum. He Also Recorded Fleet Foxes, Iggy Pop, And Autolux For Nigel Godrich's 'From The Basement Series.

Tell us about your current studio setup.

I work in a detached space on my property. There are windows in my mix room with lots of natural light. It's a happy place.

I use Pro Tools and very often use an analog summing mixer. I'll mix in the box if stems are the primary deliverable I'm sending out. I have no issues with in-the-box mixing.

When I have time and am primarily delivering stereo mixes, I still love to use my analog Dramatic Obsidian stereo bus compressor and NTI EQ on the stereo bus. Stereo bus duties are sometimes handled by plugins like the UAD 33609, Phoenix Cranesong, UAD Oxide, Acustica El Rey, or a UAD Neve plugin.

I use my analog EMT 140 a lot, and sometimes a Memory Man guitar pedal, rackmount Sansamp, Leslie Cabinet, and Retro Instruments Sta-Level, all of which I print back into the session for recall.

Plugins I lean on include Soundtoys, UAD, LiquidSonics, FabFilter, SoundRadix, and Overloud.

I like Dynaudio speakers, but I'm sure I'd be happy with other speakers as well. I also use a small Sony boombox, a Bluetooth Bose Little Guy, and occasionally Beyer DT770 headphones. I also like the car, not for its sonic accuracy but more just to listen in a different headspace with no opportunity to tweak, which I think is essential.

Having worked on so many songs over the past few years, how do you stay fresh and excited about making music these days?

The references of other artists that my clients give me keep me excited. I also try to listen to all my friends' work when they post about things, and I find a lot of that awareness keeps things fresh.

I'm not super into the whole forced boundaries for creative inspiration's sake, such as 'let's mix a song with one hand today' or having arbitrary rules like 'okay, no snare drums on this one or whatever.

If you have an open-minded attitude and good mental health, you can be ready to respond and react freely if you aren't precious about your work or afraid of looking like a failure. There's no harm in trying something if you can detach your ego from your work.

I'd rather swing for the fences and miss than do the safe easy; you know it's going to work thing. You can almost always re-do it if necessary.

Maybe this is why I'm not a live sound mixer, which is a different thrill for different reasons, much like recording is.

How do you typically approach the mixing of a song?

I'll find the core elements or the 'DNA' of the song and focus on those things without all the additional layers and thickening agents. You should be able to get the mix feeling great with just its bones, and when you are learning the song, this is a great way to get acquainted with it.

Importantly, I always have the vocal in if it's a vocal-centric song. It doesn't have to be loud and treated, but I find it very helpful to have it in a little bit to understand where the goalposts, boundaries, and energy transfers are.

Then later, when you put in the extra stuff, it's obvious what is helping, what you've grown to love, and what is taking away from what you have gotten used to. It's also helpful to dial in energy and headroom for the most significant part of the song so that when that lands, things don't implode; they feel settled in, like a feeling of being "home."

Listen to other things while working on a sound, see how they are interacting, possibly masking each other or enhancing each other. Also, instead of soloing, try having a suspicion about where a good or bad sound is coming from, and try muting it instead of soloing it. This can confirm whether or not this is precisely the element you want to adjust, and it's done in context without breaking your flow, instead of in a vacuum when you solo.

I A/B my mix with the producer's reference mix and other references by other artists by playlisting the references as audio on the same audio track where I print my mix. This playlisting allows me to switch to those mixes and compare my mix and their mix on the same signal path just by going in and out of 'input' mode on the audio print track in ProTools.

This ensures everything has the same gain going through all the same processing, converters, etc.

Also, printing your mix in the session allows you to punch in a section if a revision only calls for a specific part of the song and quickly compare your previous mix to the new revision and make sure you were doing what the client requested, just by coming in and out of input mode on the print track.

What advice do you have for aspiring mixers looking to get a break in the industry?

Meet all the best producers and musicians in town, make a lot of music, and most importantly, have a good attitude. Leave your ego at the door. You aren't getting anywhere if people don't like hanging out with you.

Don't expect things to happen overnight; it takes a long time to develop your community and improve your craft.

If you do it right, you are growing in parallel with some talented musicians and developing the bond and trust needed in a fragile situation like making recordings that will be around forever.

Have fun along the way!